Blood Relations: Wing Zero
by Befuddled Contessa
Summary: YAOI1x2,3x4: Duo is the world's only male vampire slayer, and is hated by vampires and slayers alike. But with the arrival of a new vampire in the city and a chance string of events, Duo is soon to find out there is more to his blood than anyone thought.
1. Busted Evening

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Gundam Wing or any of the characters within said series. If I did, I would redo the entire series and Heero's "Omae o korosu" wouldn't have been such an empty threat.

**Warnings:** This fic will definitely be YAOI. For those who don't know what that means (and really, if you're into the Gundam Wing fandom at all there's no excuse for you not to), it means good ol' fashion male-on-male loving of the sort your grandparents enjoyed, but now you young whippersnappers think you're too good for.

This story will also involve vampires and other beings of the supernatural and occult. Some of it may remind you Buffy. Some of it may remind you of something else you may have read somewhere. I've even gotten from some that it reminds them of Inuyasha (Oo?) but before you get pissed and thinkI intentionally ripped something off that you hold dear, let me apologize now and explain that the idea for this story is my own. I do however, borrow a lot from the concept of the vampire slayer as seen in Buffy, the Vampire Slayer. But you'll see how that players out soon enough.

**Pairings:** 1x2 (eventually), 3x4 (sooner than later). Other pairings abound, but I don't want to give _everything_ away.

So, here we go.

**Chapter 1**

**Busted Evening**

"So, how many are there?"

"I'm getting four, but the place is very crowded with people all muddying my senses, so I could be off by one--give or take."

"No matter – it's nothing I won't be able to handle."

"Not so sure, if you finish that third mojito."

Duo's response was only a quick, barking laugh before he lifted the half-full Collins glass to his mouth, downing the stinging drink with two deep gulps before slamming the glass back down on the table he shared with his partner. He pinned Quatre with a devilish grin, eyes only barely masking the bite of the rum-based drink he had the bartender make a bit stronger than usual.

"Awww, come on Quat. Don't rob me of the only fun part of this gig. You know I do my best work under the influence." Duo chuckled at his own mirth but the humor was lost on Quatre, who barely controlled a glare before returning his eyes back to the laptop in front of him. It was a Friday night in March, the cusp of the warmer season in New York. It was the time many dining establishments once again brought out their deck furniture so that patrons could enjoy their food and drink while basking in the warmer weather. It was one such place -Wholey's Bar and Grille- that entertained these two men tonight. Duo Maxwell lazily pushed his glass to the side, allowing a waitress to come around and pick up the discarded glass along with his dinner plate, its contents long since devoured.

"Can I get you guys anything else?" The busty young brunette—who had informed them earlier that her name was Countess--responded in typical food server convention.

"Not at the moment, thank you" Quatre politely replied, a single hand snaking out from behind his open laptop to pick up his fork and stab at a few leafs of lettuce in his half-eaten salad.

"I'm pretty dandy here, too" Duo followed then, after a quick glance at Quatre, amended, "but I'll take a tall glass of water, if you can manage it."

"That's fine, I'll be right back with your water," the waitress replied before she sauntered off. Quatre looked up from his laptop and smiled.

"Now that's good thinking Duo. "

"Well, you have to drink a little water with your liquor. That's my rule." Duo grinned widely. He leaned back in his chair and folded his arms across his chest. "So, are they just four lackeys, or will there actually be some measure of thrill tonight?"

"Duo!" Quatre scolded, only just managing to gently close his laptop and not slam the screen down. They'd had this conversation many times. "I don't think I need to remind you that you're a slayer, and as one it is your job to eliminate all vampires. Even if none of the vampires inside that club are of any structural importance to the clan in the area, it doesn't change the fact that you should kill as many of them that you can manage."

Duo sat up and held his arms in front of him defensively. "Geez, touchy touchy! I was just askin', you know. Of course I'm going to kill them all, but let's face it: this city is overrun with stupid vampires. They're starting to outnumber the rats! Hell, half of them are probably too dense to know they're vampires even if the sun hit them upside the head. That club could be full of them and I'd kill them all in my sleep!"

"Duo! Need I remind you to keep your voice down?" Quatre's panicked eyes quickly gazed their surroundings. They'd picked a table facing a busy street, and the other patrons looked too absorbed in their own conversation to have noticed. That, combined with the jazz music coming from inside the establishment was enough to drown out their conversation. But Duo could stand to be a bit quieter.

"Oh right, we gotta be all secretive and stuff. Can't let the _normies_ know that their lives are all in grave peril from a supernatural threat they have no idea exists. I almost forgot." Duo giggled in a way that was exaggerated in its quietness, and Quatre couldn't gauge whether Duo was being serious in a way only he could be or if the alcohol was starting to talk. Then again, Quatre wasn't really sure yet if, with Duo, there was a difference. Their friendship was still young enough to be considered new. It had only been a year since he was dispatched by the Watcher society to find Duo and train him. And boy, was that a year to remember.

"Well, if you want to take on the work of convincing an entire world of people that their lives have all been compromised, as they have been for thousands of years, be my guest. But the consequences won't only be for you to suffer. As your Watcher, Duo, we're in this together, and while I'll gladly admit you've made a lot of progress since I first found you, I still wish you would be a little more….pliable, when it came to this job." Quatre was trying really hard to not let his frustration show, but with every email he got from his sisters detailing how exceptional _their_ slayer charges were, Quatre had to wonder why he was the odd man out with his experience in just about every way.

"Oh, I'm just giving you a hard time, Quat. Don't worry about it." Neither of them had noticed when Countess returned and sat down Duo's glass of water, but it was a nice surprise when Duo looked to the left. He depleted the glass of half its contents in a few quick gulps as Quatre continued to pick at his salad. Duo wiped the moisture from his mouth with his hand.

"Ok, so what's the skinny?" He raised four fingers in front of his eyes. " Four of them…is it the usual 'I go in, use my charms to convince them I'm a nice meal, then lead them somewhere dark and private where I turn them into dust' routine? Because I have to say I'm getting quite good at that."

"Actually," Quatre sat down his fork and motioned to his laptop with his eyes and a smug look, "it just so happens that, according to one of my contacts, one or two of the vampires in that room may be quite important." Quatre smiled when he saw Duo's eyes light up like a child on Christmas morning,

"Shit really?" Duo exclaimed, then remembering to keep his voice down looked cautiously around them and leaned in, "well, about freakin' time. Any idea of what they look like?"

"Not really," Quatre opened his laptop once more to re-check the email he had been reading, the quickly shut it again. "No, all the info my contact was able to give me was that, apparently, a pretty high up vampire from the East is in the city. There's a welcome wagon made up of at least one important member of the Merquise family to show this vampire out on the town."

"Ahh, show the guy what good ol' American blood tastes like, eh? Fun," Duo cracked his knuckles and checked his watch, "Well, it's about midnight, I should probably get down there before they zero in on some poor raver and get a dose of blood laced with E." Duo finished the rest of his water and began to stand up.

"Wait a second, Duo," Quatre reached over the table and placed a hand on his shoulder, keeping him in his seat. He could have launched into another rant on _patience_ being an especially important virtue when it came to vampire slaying, but he was sure his words would fall on deaf ears.

"What? Is this about the check? Well, I just kinda _assumed_ you'd—"

"Duo, no, of course I got the bill. I just need to warn you of something before go."

"Warn me of what? That there might be big bad vampires where I'm going?" Duo chuckled. He knew that he had only been "slaying" officially for a few months now, but Quatre had trained him well enough, and in the short time he'd been in the business he hadn't encountered any kind of true danger. His slayer powers ensured that he was faster and stronger than all of those vamps.

"That's exactly what I need to warn you of, Duo" it was the somber tone in Quatre's voice that convinced Duo to take him seriously. Quatre continued. "You've been doing well in your first months of slaying Duo, but I have to tell you that so far you've only faced the lowest of the low. The poor vampires who were once human, and then turned to be some masochistic vampire's plaything or to increase their status. Or vampires who were just careless and wanted you for dinner. Those are easy enough. Even I could slay a few of them. But so far, I believe you have yet to face a full-fledged, _dangerous_ vampire. And I have to warn you, that if any of those vampires are important, chances are they'll be of that sort."

"I still fail to see what the big deal is." Duo went for another drink of water, only to awkwardly sit the glass down at the realization that he finished his drink only moments before. "I mean, I am a slayer. I may not look the part but that doesn't change the fact that I'm a lot stronger than your average blood-sucker."

"But that's just it, Duo. You're strong enough for the average blood-sucker." Quatre really wished there was some way to impress upon Duo the dangers that vampires posed—even to slayers. But there was just no way to learn without first experiencing it. His hands folded neatly in front of him in an effort to figure out exactly how to verbally communicate his worry to Duo.

"Look, Duo. I trained you for months before I thought it was time for you to start slaying, and I know you're ready. You've been very successful thus far. But I have to tell you that, the strength the slayer is blessed with isn't always enough for the job. I've told you several times before that it is very possible for slayers to be killed by vampires, and in fact many have been."

"I know that!" Duo was getting the defensive. The alcohol had begun to make him antsy, and he just wanted finish the night's task quickly. Duo was never really the person for words. "And I'll be careful."

"I hope that you are, Duo," Quatre continued, more to reassure himself. "Because there are vampires out there that have the blood of slayers to count amongst their many kills, and it's usually the ones higher up the hierarchy. There's more to vampires than just brute strength. The older and more experienced they are, the more tricks they'll know to ensure their own lives."

"And I said I'll be careful." Quatre was starting to ramble again, and there was nothing more grating to Duo's short attention span. He stood up quickly and patted Quatre on the head like an eager pet. "There's nothing I can do besides be careful. We both know that what we do has an amazing potential to leave us both as dead as doornails, so I really don't see what all the fuss is over safety," Duo said. He was quite ready to go—the alcohol was really settling in and the idea of a rave was becoming all the more appealing.

"Just trust your instincts, Duo" Quatre was wringing his hands. He didn't know why tonight was making him so anxious. It wasn't as though this were Duo's first time slaying, after all. But the threat of Duo going against a challenging vampire worried him, and his instincts were throbbing with the idea that something was going to happen tonight. One of those vampires would be really dangerous. Quatre was sure of it. "If any of those vampires seem like too much for you, don't feel as though you can't run away. You're still new, Duo, and there's still much of your power that you have yet to grasp. Don't feel like you can take on the world."

"Oh, don't worry about me," Duo flashed a disarming smile and puffed his chest out confidently. "What did I say when we first met? 'I may run and hide, but I never tell a lie'? Well, emphasis on the 'fun and hide' part this time," Duo said, and Quatre couldn't help laughing at the childishness, even in the face of what could be a dangerous evening.

"Well make sure you do that. I'll be keeping a track on you, and if I sense that you're in the slightest trouble I'll come running. Just remember that I'm not super strong like you, and there'll be very little I can do, so try not to get yourself in too deep a mess."

"I'll be good I'll be good! Now can I go?"

Duo was clearly restless, and if there was one thing Quatre could consider a plus when it came to Duo it was that when he was ready to work, he was ready. "Yes, you can go," Quatre replied, and waved his hand dismissingly. "Good luck"

Duo snickered, "Yeah, like I'll need it," And he took off down the street before Quatre could say something about him being overconfident.

Quatre turned back to his food and stared down at his salad, pondering whether he wanted to eat anymore of it. Though his eyes weren't on Duo his senses were; he was about two blocks away from his destination. Quatre hoped beyond hope that this would somehow turn out to just be a routine slaying.

"Sir, would you like your check?" The soft voice jerked Quatre out of his thoughts and he looked up with a start. Countess was there, a bill waiting in her hand.

Quatre recomposed himself, opening his laptop once more as he replied, "No thanks, I'll be here for a while longer. There'll be another gentleman joining me soon."

-------

Duo jogged down one more block and turned into a dark alleyway. It was quiet and full of places for anyone to hide and jump out at him, and part of him was screaming to turn back onto a street with decent lighting. Another part of him, however—the dominating part—knew that no thug, or much anyone else for that matter, would stand a chance. His jog slowed to a walk—according to the directions Quatre had given him earlier, the place he needed to be was just two blocks away.

"This should be fun," Duo said out loud, more to break the disturbing silence than anything else. "I get to dance around and rid the world of a few vamps all in one go. What a dream job."

Duo pulled his long, chestnut braid of hair into his hands and fiddled with it as he walked. He had only been officially slaying for a few months now, though it was a life he had been preparing for for about a year now. Slaying vampires, blood-sucking creatures that Duo had been sure only existed in cheesy movies until recently. Now it was his job, along with others, to kill them all. It was surprising how easy it was coming to him.

"Well, it's a better life than what you were getting used to," Duo responded to his own thoughts.

And he was sure he was right. He was an orphan. A dirty little kid whose one home that he could remember was destroyed in ways that his mind wiped out. Since the age of seventeen he had made his home on the streets of New York City, taking shelter wherever he could find it—the streets, shelters, decent people willing to give him a bed for a few months—all the while stealing to survive. He'd only managed to find his own apartment two years later at nineteen. It was a crumby basement single room with no hot water and roaches that swam in the toilet. He paid for it with a job delivering pizzas by bike for minimum wage. He hadn't had time for school since he left the orphanage and he still hadn't. Life didn't seem like it was going to be taking him too many places.

He remembered the sudden string of events like it was yesterday. Events that took his life on a turn for the better and worse all at once.

It was his twentieth birthday, and like most young people Duo had decided to celebrate with alcohol. He had gone to the nearest bar, only a few blocks away from where he lived. Sure, he wasn't twenty-one, but there were enough seedy places in Brooklyn that he didn't have to be. It was well into the early morning hours when he left the place, drunk off his rear and just barely coherent enough to stumble the few blocks home, most of his recent paycheck already depleted. He was, however, coherent enough to notice about halfway home that someone was following him.

It wasn't unusual. Duo Maxwell knew the he was a man slight of figure, stranding at just 5'7, blue-violet eyes and with a long braid of hair usually trailing behind him. He knew why, to some, he would seem the easy target. But usually he was fast enough to outrun those bold enough to openly chase after him. His speed was actually his saving grace: Duo had never once been in a fight or mugged, for there was never a would-be assailant or unfortunate victim of his petty thieving that he couldn't outmaneuver and outrun. Duo noted, on several occasions, how it was almost freaky how easily he could leave even the more burly and muscular assailants in the dust, his speed even enough to clear fences more than twice his height in mere seconds.

That's why it came as a great surprise, then, when the man following him was still behind him and fast gaining ground when he had started to run. He was stupid for drinking so much and stunting his own speed, and he was stupid for turning into that alleyway, for that's when his pursuer caught up with him and pinned him to a wall. He was a big guy, looking only slightly older than Duo, his face a five o'clock shadow and his eyes wide and manic. Duo had never been so scared in his life, and his fear increased ten-fold with the realization that the man who had caught him wasn't interested in mugging what little money he had on him. Due wasn't sure, even then, of what was going on, what the man was. All Duo knew was, when the man's vise-like grip on his wrists tightened to the point of breaking skin and the bigger body began to press against him, that he was certain it was no ordinary encounter. His alcohol-influenced body had begun to ache when the man easily lifted his body up by his wrists, and positioned him against the wall with his bare neck exposed. Putrid breath burned against Duo's skin. The man was saying no words, just growling in a way Duo had never heard before, his mouth slowly lowering to his neck. Duo's body began to shake when tongue and teeth caressed his bare neck. And it was just as the man was about to bite down that Duo screamed. It was a loud, primal scream that carried an aura of awakening power that set the attacker on edge, and before he could jump back the bigger man found his hands in a grip much tighter than that he had previously been inflicting. With all the rage in the world and not nearly the same amount of effort, Duo had the man by the wrists and had thrown him clear across the alley. Duo could still remember the sound of the man's body slamming against the brick wall across from him, then landing in the dumpster below. He hadn't stuck around to see if the guy would come after him, or wonder just how he had manage to throw a man weighing well over one-hundred pounds several feet over and into the air. The event had filled him with fear and killed his buzz; the run home felt like only seconds.

Duo looked up from his thoughts at the sound of muffled music of the sort one would expect from the type of place he was looking for. He really mustn't have been paying the attention, he thought to himself. The alley he was now standing in was smattered a few people, all heading to or leaving a tall, steel door, guarded only by one very sordid looking man.

"Welp, I must be here," Duo thought to himself, getting into "Work Mode" and chuckling at year-old memories. If he was lucky he'd get to throw a few bodies up against walls tonight.

---------

Quatre had just finished picking at his salad when he sensed that Duo had reached his destination. He couldn't figure out whether to relax or tense up from the news, and he realized that Duo might have had a point when he suggested ordering a drink for himself.

Countess was only two tables away so Quatre caught her attention by slightly raising his hand. She noticed and, with a few parting words with another table, trotted over to him.

"Yes? Is there anything else I can get for you, sir?" Her voice was less enthusiastic than before, and Quatre could tell that she was quite ready to end her shift and go home.

"Yes, I think I'll try something to drink," Quatre smiled at her and glanced over to the drink menu that was propped up in the center of the table. He looked over his options quickly, "I think I'll try a peachtini, if that is ok with you?"

"Of course sir, but don't take any offense because I am going to have to see some ID…" Countess responded hesitantly, but Quatre only chuckled.

"No worry, I guess I should take that as a compliment." He quickly fished out his wallet from his back pants pocket and pulled out his passport. He opened it to the page that would reveal his age and handed it to the waitress, who only gave it a quick look over before handing it back and snorting.

"Compliment? Sir, you're only twenty-two."

"Still, nice to know I can pull off the younger look."

"I don't think you'll ever have a problem with pulling off the younger look." The smooth voice was much too masculine to come from either Quatre or Countess, and both jumped at the man who seemed to appear from nowhere. It was Quatre who recognized the tall, lean form and immediately switched his reaction from surprise to delight.

"You're here. I'm glad you could make it."

"Of course I could make it." The man replied, then looked over at the slightly dumbstruck waitress casually addressed her with a nod. "And can you add a double rum and coke to that order?"

---------

It didn't take long for Duo to get into the place. The bouncer seemed to enthusiastically welcome him, actually. Duo figured that young boys ready to get loose, party, and spend their hard-earned money on the drugs peddled within were considered A-listers at this place. Still, the music was loud and the atmosphere was positively euphoric, so it didn't take long before Duo was on the dance floor and moving in time with the crowd, sweat beginning to form under the tight black tunic and matching black skin tight jeans he wore. It was nearly enough for him forget why he was there in the first place, but in the midst of the excitement and alcohol, his mind was focused enough to do it's job.

It involved one of the first things Quatre had taught him about vampires and the power he held. His ability to sense them. It was difficult at first, as slayers usually carried the power to sense vampires in their—a tidbit that would continue to gross Duo out—ovaries; accessories that Duo conveniently lacked. It took a while for them to find out that Duo's own vampire sensing ability would manifest in his stomach. Similar to the feeling Duo got whenever he was taking a test he knew he was doomed to fail, or when going down that first drop on a rollercoaster. It took a while to master in training, and Duo still didn't quite have it down yet, but all he had to do was reach out with his mind, concentrate on the people around him, and if vampires were close enough that's how his body would respond.

And so the closed eyes and fierce look of concentration on his face as he danced wildly to the music wasn't from the music itself, but from the effort it took to determine that there were indeed only four vampires in the club, as Quatre had said, and that they had broken off into pairs of two, and were on opposite ends of the club.

_Hmmm, this is going to be tricky…_ Duo thought as he continued to dance, making sure to dodge the flailing limbs of the people dancing around him. He figured he would have to tackle this group in the pairs they were in. Go after one group, lead them outside, do his business, and come back for the remaining two.

_Yeah, that's what I'll do. Time to get to work, _and in a random choice he chose to go after the two vampires further back in the room. He began to fight his way through the crowd, exerting some of his strength here or there to get the more annoying ravers out of his way.

------

_If this is the American idea of fun, I'm better off without any fun until I'm back in Japan._

Heero Yuy leaned against the back of the wall furthest in the rear of the club. The club was relatively dark, save the strobe lights and the occasional spattering of glow-in-the-dark paint gracing the walls. The nameless club was filled to the brim with young humans, all dancing around wildly to a repetitive techno track. Many wore all sorts of glow-in-the-dark accessories—necklaces and bands, and the spinning masses of random colors was almost nauseating to the young-looking vampire.

Heero almost yawned, averting his eyes from all the colors. He had no idea what he was doing in a trash hole like this place. He had figured that when he got to New York after a long journey from Japan he would be greeted with some form of welcome from the Merquise family, but he had been expecting a relatively quiet affair. Boring dinner and conversation that was usually the staple of entertainment for most ancient and Victorian vampire families. Instead he had been met by three fellows of the sort he usually wouldn't have consorted with and dragged out on the town for "all that the city had to offer."

"_All the city had to offer…"_ Well, suffice to say he wasn't impressed.

With a lazy hand he brushed his messy black tresses away from his dark blue eyes, and cast and equally lazy glance at his companion. The vampire seemed to be even younger than he was. Tall, skinny, and with short silver hair that fell—perfectly styled of course—into his face. Silver hair much like the other man who had accompanied them and was now somewhere else in the club. He was wearing a black T that clung to his muscled body (much like the one Heero had been coincidentally wearing himself), and baggy black cargo pants (not as good a choice as Heero's starched blue denim jeans). And, as far as Heero was concerned, he looked perfectly at home with the rest of the idiots dancing around the place.

"Isn't this great?" The idiot—named Cid, Heero remembered—called out to him, moving closer as he danced to the beat. Heero gave him a black stare, but the man paid no attention.

"The blood in here, it's so hot…I bet you can feel it too!"

Indeed, Heero could. It was the least appealing thing about the place. The blood ran hot, alright. Hot and drugged with the various drugs most of the people in the room were under. There was nothing Heero hated more than dirty blood.

"Hn," was his only reply.

He continued to stand there, bored and uncomfortable as his welcome wagon continued to have the time of his life, wondering when he was going to get to the business aspect of his little trip. It didn't take long for Heero to begrudgingly realize that he had better take his time, and part of that meant not rushing these guys.

"Well, if this isn't a lovely start to my mission…" he said in a lowered voice. He was just considering the idea of ditching the idiot entirely, until the both of them sensed something…something that made him look up and Cid stop dancing.

It was a person. A boy—something that Heero surprisingly had to take a split second to consider due to the long braid tumbling over his shoulder…and something else he couldn't quite pinpoint. The boy just moved within a few feet of them and began to dance, not paying attention to either of them. His body twisted and turned in his tight-fitting, all black attire, his braid and bangs swinging with the music. And Heero had to admit that it wasn't completely unappealing. There was something there, something pulling him. After giving it a moment's thought, he figured it must have been the boy's blood. Despite a little something Heero assumed was relatively harmless alcohol, the boy's blood was relatively pure…and absolutely enticing when compared to the dirty blood that surrounded him. Heero was beginning to realize just how hungry he was—it had been a while since he had fed.

_Maybe there was something worth checking out at this dump, after all, _Heero thought, and was just about to make his move, turn on his vampiric charm that could draw any person of any sex to him, and to their deaths.

"I think I might have just found my next meal! See ya, Hero!"

But the idiot had beaten him to it.

Before Heero could do or say anything, Cid had sauntered off and within seconds was dancing with the boy, their bodies twisting and turning in sync with each other and the music. No words seemed to be exchanged. He could sense Cid had turned on his own charm. He could also sense something else at work, something else that was still drawing him, and mostly likely Cid as well.

-----

_Well, that was beyond easy, _Duo thought as he continued to dance with the taller man. He had barely been within seeing distance of the two men he pegged as his first group of vampires before the taller one pounced on him. His hands were now clenching Duo waist, and caressing his body in a manner that Duo vaguely realized was seduction that he probably would have fallen for had he not known what the guy was. Duo had realized a long time ago that guys weren't exactly off the radar when it came to what he was attracted to, and this guy was admittedly attractive. But vampires definitely weren't a blip, especially when he couldn't get his human relationships in order.

The vampire's gaze never strayed from his eyes, a technique Duo had learned most vampires employed to get their victims under his spell. He made sure to only glance up occasionally. His own power didn't require eye contact.

It was the second thing Quatre had taught him, about vampires and about himself. Vampires had the power of persuasion—a skill that, for them, would always translate to seductive charm and nearly overwhelming attraction. It was how vampires lured in nearly all of their prey. Slayers had a similar power that had more to do with their aura, he had been told. In the right conditions a slayer could alter their aura to make their bodies more enticing to a vampire—to accentuate their heartbeat and make their blood like sweet nectar, filling any vampire close enough with an almost irresistible bloodlust. Duo remembered describing it as a _"Venus-Venus fly trap-trap". _ Quatre had also told Duo that, in his drunken state the night of his birthday, he may have accidentally triggered that power, which resulted in that particular vampire fervently chasing after him. As such, it was one of the easier powers for Duo to tap into. And this vampire he was currently dancing with was definitely snared.

Duo figured he would wait until the end of the song playing before he would "let" the vampire lure him outside. If he was lucky, his Asian buddy would come along. A few quick glances at him told Duo that the unlucky vamp was definitely interested.

-----

_I can't take my eyes off of him. This is more than just his blood. _Heero was perplexed. As the tempo of the track increased, so did the movements of the two dancing in front of him increase to an almost sexual fervor. The boy dancing outshined Cid. Heero could nearly feel the heat coming from his body, and even from where he was standing he swore he could sense the syrup texture of the boy's blood. Could smell it. Wanted to taste it. He briefly pondered the idea of forcing Cid to share the boy with him, but his pride quickly squashed that idea. It didn't help at all that occasionally the boy would look over, directly at him, almost daring him to come over. To join in. To drink of his flesh…

Heero shook his head violently. Where was his mind going? He had never had thoughts like this when it came to his prey (male prey, no less). It was a sort of pull that felt almost familiar, yet indescribable. Heero didn't like how it was wrenching away his control. Rather than stay and guiltily bask in it, Heero decided it would be best to pull away and see what the other gentlemen he came to this forsaken place were doing.

It was with great effort that he walked away. Heero pushed through the crowd making his way to the bar where, sure enough, he spotted the two other vampires he had come with. Both were older, much older than he was, though one was slightly older than the other. They were both old enough to look out of place, and the suits they wore as they casually sipped at flasks they had with them made them sore thumbs all the more. Both had a gaggle of females draping themselves over them, but neither seemed to pay much attention. Too wrapped up in conversations of their own.

As Heero grew closer the younger of the two—Zechs Merquise, he knew—turned and acknowledged him.

"Ahh, Heero Yuy," His voice was soft and seductive, no doubt to keep the females around him drunk on his charm. In fact none of them looked coherent enough to know what he was saying. Heero couldn't be bothered to feel sorry for the fate he knew was soon to befall them. "Interesting choice of venue, is it not?"

Heero had to still himself from looking visibly appalled at "interesting" being used to describe such an unbearable place to spend one's time. "Yes, one could call it interesting."

"And what has become of Cid?" Treize Khushrenada, the older one and good friend of the Merquise family, entered himself into the budding conversation.

"I left him in the company of another. He seemed more interested in feeding than in keeping me entertained." Heero said, not really upset at having been ditched by the idiot.

"I sensed that. Definitely Cid. But whoever he's with…is absolutely scrumptious" the slightly glazed expression that accompanied Zechs words told Heero that they, too, had sensed the presence of that mysterious boy Cid—and Heero—had been taken with.

"Yes indeed. Some boy with a rather long braid attached to his head. Very intriguing blood flowing through his veins, though" Heero responded. He wasn't prepared for the stunned and suddenly alert expressions of both of the other men's faces.

"Long braid?" Zechs questioned him.

"Yes, long brown hair woven into a braid. Quite an unusual style, I think." Heero didn't know what was going on, and thus was further unprepared when Zechs short a look at Treize who was already calmly buttoning the front of his suit coat. Some of the girls around them were beginning to come to.

"Heero, I need to go and fetch Cid, _Now" _Zechs requested, though Heero didn't have to know the man to know that it was an order. An order he should follow if he planned to learn anything of value while in the States.

"Yes, but what, may I ask, is the issue here?" Heero asked cautiously, better to show respect than make demands of his own.

"Heero, that is no ordinary boy Cid has taken up with." Zechs too, was now buttoning his coat. "That boy is a demon. A demon quite well known around here for slaying vampires. Get Cid and bring him here. The demon won't kill him if we're here and together. What the hell was Cid thinking? He should have known…" Zechs reached into his coat pocked and pulled out a cell phone, beginning to dial the number to his driver.

"Yes," Heero responded while turning on his heels and heading back the way he had come. He didn't see Zechs and Treize preparing to not be there when he got back. And sure enough, a car was already waiting for them at the front entrance.

_A demon?_ Heero was stunned. He was experienced with demons, they were quite a nuisance in Japan, many having personal vendettas with vampires that spanned the course of centuries. It wasn't uncommon for demons, back where came from, to take pleasure in the killing of vampires.

_Still, a demon that I couldn't sense? The boy's aura was unusual. But a demon? He must be particularly crafty. And that makes him dangerous."_Heero mentally prepared himself for anything as he pushed through the crowd to spot where he was once standing, watching the two men dance.

Now to only find the spot empty.

Heero looked around urgently. Truth be told, he cared very little for this idiot Cid and, if what Zechs said was true and Cid should have known better, then he probably deserved to die. No, Heero was more interested in salvaging a complete waste of an evening by confronting a demon crafty enough to completely hide its demonic aura while being only mere feet away from him.

A few more moments of looking around and he caught sight of an inconspicuous back door which was just slightly ajar. Throwing caution to the wind he went to it, opening it slowly and looking outside into a dark alleyway. He could sense Cid and the boy ahead, and so, keeping cautious to stay quiet, he began to follow them.

The alleyway was quiet and empty, but it only remained quiet for a few steps before Heero's keen ears picked up the barest sounds of a scuffle, and with that he began to run the rest of the distance past a few dumpsters and around a corner that led to a dead end…

And the sight of the boy from the club effortlessly ramming a sharp object into Cid's chest. A wooden stake. Cid's eyes went wide only for a moment before his body shook violently. Heero knew what was coming next, and shielded his eyes as Cid's body exploded into ash, raining over both Heero and the demon.

Heero didn't have much time to think over the loss, as had to jump back just a split second before the wooden stake that had taken Cid's life was rammed directly where Heero's heart would have been. He landed a few feet away from the demon, whose expression from under his bangs was an absolutely murderous grin.

"There you are, loverboy," The boy called over to him, tossing his murder weapon from hand to hand. "You saved me a lot of trouble, you know. I thought I was going to have to go back in for you, which would have made that one more trip than I originally pl—" The boy suddenly looked over in the direction of the club, his actions stilling for just a moment before he hissed out "shit!" and stomped his foot.

"Damnit, your two other blood sucking friends got away. I wanted this to be a full job!"

Heero, for his part, had jumped into a defensive stance. His knees bent and his eyes focused solely on that stake in the demon's hands. His mind, however, had a hard time wrapping around the boy being a demon. _I still can't sense anything demonic about his aura, even now that I'm specifically looking for it. Something's not right here._

"I take it you don't talk very much?" the boy continued after a few moments of the second vampire just standing there funny and appraising him. "I mean, geez, I at least would have gotten an 'I'm going to enjoy draining you dry' by now. What's your deal?"

Heero didn't care to respond, his body was taunt, his mind flurrying, trying to figure the boy out. There was only one thing that made sense whenever he ran his mind over the boy, but that option was immediately thrown out by the simple fact that the boy was just that: a boy.

"Oh well, then" Duo stretch his arms out and yawned, stake firmly gripped in one hand. "Since you aren't very much fun to talk to, I guess I might as well just kill you and get home. I have a Saturday class, you know."

The attack was nearly faster than Heero had anticipated. In a second the long-haired boy was in his face and once again ramming the stake at his heart. It took all of Heero's reflexes to jump to the side. _Damn, whatever this boy is, he's fast. But…_Heero noticed how unsteady the boy looked after such a quick lunge, it took him almost a compromisingly long moment to gather himself for another lunge that Heero also managed to dodge. _He doesn't seem quite…skilled._

"Damn, would ya hold still?" The boy lunged again and again, frantically stabbing at Heero's heart but just barely missing each time as the vampire jumped in some direction out of the way each time. "I thought I was supposed to be faster than you freaks?"

_Freaks? What kind of idiot demon is this?_ Heero didn't take kindly to insults, and it was with that that he figured it was time to stop being so passive. The boy lunged again, but this time instead of jumping well out of the way, Heero jumped slightly to the left and spun on his foot, moving just enough out of the way to dodge the boy's stake and end up directly behind him. Before the boy could right himself, Heero kicked him square in the back with enough force to knock the demon off-balance and send him flying into the wall in front of him. The long-haired killer hit the wall with an audible crack and fell backwards on the ground in a mass of coughs. The stake was lost.

Heero moved forward, authoritatively grabbing the boy by the collar of his black tunic and yanking him up of the ground and into the air above him.

"What the hell are you?" Heero demanded, slightly wringing the boy in his grip to get his attention.

Big mistake.

Without warning the boy's eyes snapped open and with one hand broke the grip Heero had on his shirt. He dropped to the ground in front the vampire and in a fluid motion punched Heero in the chest with enough force to crack several ribs. Heero was thrown back by the force, his body hitting the brick wall behind him and slowly sinking to the ground.

-----

Duo's shock at being bested, for the first time, by a vampire was only outdone by the anger he felt at being bested by one. Sure, he'd managed to be hit by a vampire before, but it was only ever when he was taking on several at a time. Duo had never been hit—at all much less so hard—by a vampire one on one.

_This must be one of those "dangerous, tricky vampires" Quatre was warning me about._ Thinking of Quatre, Duo realized that he had most likely sensed when Duo had gotten kicked into a brick wall and was most likely coming to help. _Shit_. His opponent was slumped on the ground and somehow managing to get to his feet. Duo could only take pleasure in the fact that his punch looked like it hurt infinitely more than the vampires kick.

"Didn't your buddies tell you? You must be new around here. I'm the vampire killing demon." Duo chucked all the while wiping the blood that dripped from his nose with his hand. Quatre and Duo and had gotten wind a while ago that the vampires who were privy to Duo's existence did not know that he was, indeed, a vampire slayer and instead took him for a demon. An error Quatre and Duo figured would be best worked to their advantage.

The vampire didn't respond. Just got back up and resumed the fighting stance he had had since the beginning.

"Oh geez," Duo groaned audibly, "not this cat and mouse shit again. Can't you just accept that you're about to die? It really would make things easier on the both of us."

Duo's body tensed up in preparation to attack, and he was a split second from doing so until the sound of sirens decided the outcome of the fight for the both of them. Shortly after a bustle of commotion was heard, and then the sight of scantily clad ravers fleeing down the alley could be seen.

"Fuck," Duo muttered to himself, as he the saw the signs of a busted party? "Guess we're going to have to continue this fight some other ti—"

He turned back to where his opponent had been standing only to find him gone.

"Geez, well if this night wasn't a total bust," Duo's displeasure manifested in the form of a frown and he wiped the ash from his hands against his pants. _The only vampires worth killing tonight all got away._

Turning from the dead end he followed the crowd through the alley, stopping only when could spot Quatre fighting through the crowd to get to him. He was going to have a lovely time explaining a bruised back and what he was sure was a broken nose.

_Next Episode: _

_Heero Yuy gets charged with the task of finding out more about the mysterious vampire hunting demon before he can get started on any of the work he was deployed to do, while Duo also becomes slightly obsessed with the vampire that managed to get away. Quatre and his mysterious gentlemen friend both shed light on their mysterious pasts._

And there we have it, end of chapter one. First chapters are always the hardest for me, but I have this story planned out perfectly in my head, so expect more structure by the next chapter? Oo So, like it? Hate it? Either way, send me a nice review why don't ya?


	2. A Night in Passing

**AN: **Thanks a lot to the people who reviewed! Seriously, it was like much needed oxygen. I loved the words of encouragement. 

So, apparently, there were formatting issues with my last chapter. hopefully, I've been able to fix that, if not...well, then FFN can just go to hell.

Speaking of FFN and hell...CAN SOMEONE **PLEASE** FIX THE DOCUMENT MANAGER!?!? It won't allow me to upload new chapters!I had to go through some backwater method involving re-uploading the first chapter as the second chapter, then exporting it, deleting it from the story, THEN going back to the Document Manager and editing the file by replacing the text with that of the actual second chapter! Gosh, it's enough to make a poor slash writer go insane!

...::ahem:: Now that I've gotten that out of my system (O.o) on with the usual pre-chapter disclaimers...

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**Disclaimer:** I don't own Gundam Wing or any of the characters within said series. If I did, I would redo the entire thing and Heero's "Omae o korosu" wouldn't have been such an empty threat.

**Warnings:** This fic will definitely be YAOI. For those who don't know what that means (and really, if you're into the Gundam Wing fandom at all there's no excuse for you not to), it means good ol' fashioned male-on-male loving of the sort your grandparents enjoyed, but now you young whippersnappers think you're too good for.

This story will also involve vampires and other beings of the supernatural and occult. Some of it may remind you of Buffy. Some of it may remind you of something else you may have read somewhere. I've even gotten from some that it reminds them of Inuyasha (O.o?), but before you get pissed and think I intentionally ripped something off that you hold dear, let me apologize now and explain that the idea for this story is my own. I do however, borrow a lot from the concept of the vampire slayer as seen in Buffy, the Vampire Slayer. But you'll see how that players out soon enough.

**Pairings:** 1x2 (eventually), 3x4 (sooner than later). Other pairings abound, but I don't want to give _everything_ away.

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**Chapter 2 **

**A Night in Passing **

Quatre had just been meagerly considering a second peachtini when the back of his mind pinged. The area of his mind that had stayed focused on Duo. He paused mid-conversation and concentrated, the look on his face alerting his gentleman friend that something was up.

There was only a second or two of hesitation before Quatre's mind returned to the table. _Oh no_. "Duo's in trouble," Quatre anxiously informed his friend. His sixth sense could register that Duo has just been the recipient of a fair amount of pain, and upon further delving his empathic senses could feel anger and shock emanating from the slayer that wasn't too far away—definitely not at the club.

"I'm afraid we're going to have to cut this short." Quatre said, a measure of disappointment in his voice at having to ditch his friend at the restaurant.

"Not a problem. It's to be expected with your job…as well as mine. You're just the unfortunate one tonight." The man with the smooth baritone voice replied in an attempt to calm his blond friend, and from the small smile that spread across Quatre's face, he'd succeeded. "I only wish I could come and help. I still have a hard time accepting you as a fighter."

"Don't worry about me," Quatre responded as he stood from his chair. "Don't let this face fool you; I'm trained for this sort of thing. I may not have the strength that you or Duo have, but I have other abilities that I can employ—you of all people should know that." Quatre ended with a wink as he pulled a purple vest over his pastel pink shirt.

His friend chuckled. He wouldn't forget how he had once been so surprisingly deceived by the short blonde's lithe form and entrancing blue eyes when they had first—intimately—met.

"Besides," Quatre continued, "if you came along Duo would surely detect you for what you are…and that would open a can of worms I don't think I'm ready for yet." The man still sitting agreed with a nod, and Quatre reached into his back pocket and pulled out his wallet.

"Here, this should take care of the check," Quatre said in a rush as he opened his wallet and began to fish out bills--he didn't have time to wait for the waitress to process his credit card. A grunt from across the table stopped him.

"Don't worry about it," a hand was raised before the blond had the chance to protest. "I can cover this. You should get to your slayer as soon as you can. Meanwhile, I'm going to finish this bloody steak in front of me."

Quatre gave his friend another smile of relief. He bent over to pick up his leather carrying case off the ground, into which he quickly stuffed his laptop, and threw it over his shoulder. "Thanks a lot. I hope to see you again soon, Trowa."

"And you will," his friend—Trowa—reassured him. "Now go."

Quatre flashed him one more smile, then spun on his heels and was running down the street, the same way he had witnessed Duo go an hour earlier. He ran in the direction of the club, keeping a mental track on Duo's position to know where he was and when he should break away from his current course. He didn't need his sixth sense for that, however. A block before he was to turn down the proper alleyway he spotted the tell-tale signs of a broken up rave. The flashing of red and blue lights and dozens of half dressed people running, or stumbling, to avoid being arrested. Quatre figured that Duo would be somewhere amongst this crowd, and he could indeed sense him further down the alley. He pushed through the ravers, making sure to avoid cops as he scanned the crowd for a familiar heart-shaped face. Sure enough, a few yards down he spotted Duo, who had already spotted him and was heading in his direction. Quatre wasn't blind to the fact that he was holding a hand over his nose and contorting his back in an unusual way, but from the sight of all the people, as well as the fact that he couldn't sense the presence of any vampires, Quatre figured that any danger had passed.

"God damnit," Duo grumbled as he came within speaking distance of Quatre. The only thing that hurt worse than the spot on his back where he had been so soundly kicked was his surely broken nose. It was all he could do to keep the blood from gushing through his fingers.

"What happened?" Quatre said as he looked Duo over, worriedly searching for any signs of a serious injury. "I came as soon as I sensed that you were in pain. But from the looks of things you seem to be alright…for the most part."

"Alright!?" Duo sputtered, the hand covering his nose loosening just enough to allow a thick drop of blood to descend towards his upper-lip. Duo paid no attention to it; Quatre cringed. "I was in the middle of slaying my second vampire of the night—who managed to do _this_ to me, by the way," he frantically motioned down to his injured nose with his eyes, "and just when I managed to punch the guy into the wall _this_ happens!" He waved his free hand around, pointing out the crowd of people who so obviously allowed the vampire to escape.

"Duo, quiet down!" Quatre hushed him, fishing into his carrying case for the handkerchief he always carried with him while scanning the crowd to make sure nobody had paid attention to Duo's outburst. Luckily, everyone was a little caught up in other matters. "Take this," his pushed the soft cloth into Duo's free hand.

"Thanks," Duo grumbled more, wiping his bloody hand clean before holding the handkerchief against his nose. "Damn, tonight was such a bust. There was nothing special about the one I did manage to get. He was too focused on sucking me dry to even notice the stake in his chest."

"Well, at least you managed to get _one_," Quatre said consolingly, taking Duo by his arm and steering back towards the main street, hoping that none of the cops would see it fit to approach the two comparatively less strung-out looking boys. Luckily, none did. They turned back onto the main street and in the direction of the restaurant where both had been sitting only two hours earlier. It would be a good spot from which to catch a cab.

"Like I've said before, Duo. In this line of work, it's always a blessing to just make it out with your life intact."

"Screw that," Duo retorted bitterly. "I know I could have slain that last creep if it weren't for that interruption. But still, you should have seen him. He was faster than I was! What was that about?" Duo thought back with embarrassment at how amateurish he must have looked lunging time and time again at a vampire that was managing to stay one step ahead of him. _ A vampire shouldn't be able to do that. Isn't that what Quatre led me to believe? _

They walked the rest of the way to Wholey's where Quatre noticed, with half parts relief and disappointment, that Trowa was already gone, and another couple was blithely enjoying what was their table. Countess, who was tending to another table, happened to look up and notice them, waving casually before getting back to work. "Let's get home, Duo," he said. "You can fill me in on the details when we get home."

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About a mile away, an unidentifiable figure was sprinting across the Manhattan skyline, jumping from roof to roof—sometimes across whole streets—and sticking to the shadows with inhuman agility. Normally Heero would have just taken a cab, the pain in his chest was definitely screaming for him to, but the present situation called for him to make a quick getaway. It wasn't until he was about three miles away from where he had encountered that strange demon and separated from his group that he looked back to determine that he wasn't being followed. Some might have called traveling that distance overdoing it, but when Heero didn't see hide or hair of a pursuer he was that he had sufficiently made it away safely.

_Well, somewhat safely. _He thought bitterly as he softly ran a hand over his sweat-soaked chest. He leaned against the air conditioning unit on top the roof he had managed to stop on. His very heartbeat was making his bruised ribs throb; he suspected at least two of them to be fractured. _That was some punch, but it was my own foolishness that deserved it. _

Indeed, in the one moment he had unfortunately underestimated that demon he had been made to regret reading too much into the mysterious boy's slighter stature and general lack of fighting skill. The boy had been about as graceful as a pregnant elephant in trying to get him with that wooden stake, but damnit if his punch didn't pack the strength of one. Heero hadn't been hit that hard in a long time, and he couldn't deny that the attack far outweighed anything he could have done—as far as pure strength was involved.

_That hit made me feel human. I can definitely see why they called him a demon…that boy definitely wasn't human._ Though that didn't answer any questions. Heero still had a hard time accepting that the boy he had gone up against that night was any sort of demon. It just didn't click. He didn't sense anything demonic about the boy while they were in the club. And nothing about the boy's admittedly charming features seemed at all demonic. _If he was a demon, how did he stroke my blood lust so thoroughly? I've never been that attracted to anything before, let alone a demon. _As it happened, vampires were naturally repelled by demons, as the blood of most demons was quite poisonous to them—a fact that Heero was keenly aware of. And to his knowledge there was no type of demon that could, in their own power, successfully hide every trace of their demonic aura from a being like a vampire.

He continued his journey, but in a calm walking pace, stopping at the edge of each roof and looking around to make sure there were no witnesses before effortlessly hopping an expansive space to the next roof. He wasn't very far from the apartment that had been set up for him by the Yuy family before he made his journey to the States.

Something about that boy still irked him. Heero was almost certain that he wasn't a demon, but there was really only one other type of being he knew of that matched the description of the boy…and that was a slayer. A lineage of humans gifted with strength and speed superior to that of vampires, whose appointed goal was to hunt down and kill them all. In his time spent as a vampire Heero had never encountered one, but he knew that to anyone with supernatural senses, a slayer would read as only human—just as that "vampire hunting demon" had. The only thing that disproved the idea of that boy being a slayer was the very fact that he was a boy, as far as Heero could tell. The slayer trait, as everyone knew, was restricted exclusively to females, and not anywhere in history was there an exception.

_Oh bother, I don't have the time to devote to tracking down the origins of that boy. _And indeed he didn't. The express purpose of his trip to the States had been laid out for him before he ever stepped foot on a plane, and they in no way included lingering ruminations over a long-haired boy with entrancing violet eyes.

The rest of Heero's journey back to his arranged apartment was just as uneventful as his escape. He descended from the rooftops into yet another alleyway, and immerged on the street two blocks from where he needed to be. The family had set him up in an apartment in Lower Spanish Harlem, bordering on the Upper East Side. It was as much as he could do to respectfully decline his superior's desire to set him up in one of the wealthiest areas of Manhattan (no need to draw much attention to one's self). He'd only been to the flat once since he made it into the city earlier that evening, but he keenly remembered the size and color of the relatively nondescript building it was in.

The exterior bore no markings or embellishments indicating that it was a building only the well-to-do lived in, but with the rising cost of living in Manhattan, the effects of Yorkville and the prestigious Upper East Side had started to bleed into the surrounding areas, appealing to those seeking the wealthy amenities at slightly lower prices than they would be found in the neighborhoods in which they were established. The result of the population shuffling was Heero Yuy walking into a building that, while bare and unassuming on the outside, featured polished marble floors, richly adorned walls, and an alert and able-bodied security guard inside. Heero paid no mind to the man as he entered the building and walked straight towards the elevators at the back of the lobby, and the security guard for his part pretended not to notice the general disheveled and annoyed appearance of the young looking gentleman. Heero stepped into the elevator when it arrived, and pressed the button marked "14"—the top floor. His unit was just to the right of the elevator and he made a beeline for it the second the doors opened.

In comparison to the rest of the inside of the building, Heero's apartment was quite bare. The agency that the Yuy family had hired to secure the apartment had only furnished it with the most necessary and neutral furniture. The flat was of medium size, with one big space that was split between a living room and kitchen, and four doors that branched off into a coat closet, guest bathroom, a rather large bedroom, and the hallway that Heero had just entered from.

He shut the door behind him and walked straight to his bedroom, only turning on the desk lap. He removed his shirt and neatly folded it without thinking. Standing in front of the full-length wall mirror, Heero inspected his chest with brows furrowed. He couldn't remember the last time he'd seen his chiseled abs marred by such a thorough bruise. His pale skin was marked by a deep red blotch and swelling. His chest was tender to the touch, but even then Heero could sense the vampiric blood in his veins repairing the injury, and already it didn't hurt as much as it had when he first received it. Heero made a mental note then to avoid the strong boy should he happen across him again.

_This job is going to be enough of a chore; I don't have to add solving the Merquise family problem to the mission specs. _Removing every bit of clothing, save his white low-cut briefs, Heero put his clothing away in preparation for bed. He moved surely into the darkness of his living room, going for the cell phone he had carelessly forgotten to bring with him earlier that night. Checking the missed call log and bathing the room in a dim blue light, Heero glared at the down at the screen. Two missed calls: Zechs Merquise and Katashi Yuy—one of his family superiors.

Heero growled at the phone, as if doing so would make the two calls disappear and, with them, his responsibilities. He walked with the phone to one of the four large windows in the living room and sat on the wide window sill, resting his back against one side and a leg haphazardly on the opposite end. If there was one thing that livened up Heero's current living space, it was the excellent view: the contained, yet seemingly endless expanse of Central Park, and the reservoir in the distance, sparkling with the lights of the city.

Heero alternated between letting his mind wander off into the view and frowning down at his phone, determining which call would be more bearable to return first.

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"Well, how the heck was I supposed to know that one of those blood suckers would be Bruce Lee's long lost brother?" Duo yelled, throwing open the sliding steel door, flipping on the adjacent light switch in a fluid motion, and entering the studio-like apartment he shared with Quatre. He made a barely restrained mad dash to the open kitchen, opening the fridge door with enough force to knock over the cereal boxes on top of it and fishing out all the ingredients needed to make a mouth-watering roast beef sandwich—the steak he'd eaten only a few hours earlier was apparently already forgotten. Quatre followed him into the apartment in a much calmer pace, slowly sliding the door closed behind him and making sure every bolt was fastened.

"You can't say I didn't warn you, Duo," Quatre said, coolly reminding Duo of the warning he had given him just before he'd gone off that night, and inwardly bemoaning the fact that he obviously hadn't listened. "Not all vampires are going to be blindly focused on sucking you dry. Some are going to be crafty, and those are going to know exactly what they're doing. Some vampires you'll encounter will actually be well versed in defending themselves and, from the sound of things, it was one of those lot you encountered tonight."

"Yeah, well," Duo was in the process of smearing a large amount of mayonnaise between two slices of bread. Between his slayer powers, and the pressure he managed to apply to it earlier, Duo's nose had stopped bleeding on the cab ride back to their shared apartment in the Little Italy, and the pain was reduced to a dull throb. "That particular vampire was definitely more trouble than any I've encountered so far. What happened to the whole _'the slayer is blessed with superior abilities in order to achieve their goal of slaying all vampires'_?" Duo mimicked the softer tone of Quatre's voice in annoyance, more at himself than the boy he actually considered a friend.

"Duo, from the story you related to me I'm not surprised that vampire caught you off guard." The ceasing sounds of frantically cutting beef roast and the long-haired boy's stunned expression were more than enough to inform Quatre that his words had struck a chord. He pulled his laptop out of his carrying case and plugged it into the wall unit next to his favorite chair to charge. "Well, I'm not," he followed up matter-of-factly. "I told you before that slaying vampires requires more than just walking up to one and driving some wood into its heart. It requires cunning; it requires finesse; it requires—

"What? Are you saying I don't have those things? Are you saying I don't have _finesse_?" Duo responded for the sake of his steadily pride, before slamming a glob of barbeque sauce onto his sandwich and inattentively licking his fingers.

"That's not exactly what I'm saying," Quatre flung himself onto the couch in exasperation. _If I were half as good as any of my older sisters Duo would have been whipped into shape a long time ago. _Quatre shook the thought out of his head. No use beating himself up as well. "Duo, we just have to work harder on your training. I taught you the basics, how to tap into your instincts and harness your power, but you still have a long way to go. I suppose tonight was a valuable lesson; you permitted your superior strength to allow you to underestimate your opponent and he capitalized on that. Now I believe you know that, even one on one, an experienced vampire can take down a slayer. It has happened before, and it isn't at all unusual. We'll just have to work on your fighting skills a bit more, to make sure it doesn't happen again."

"Well of course it isn't going to happen again. I did manage to put the guy in his place before the fight got broken up." Duo said, remembering with grim satisfaction the stunned look in the vampire's blue eyes as he picked himself up off the ground. "He only managed to get the jump on me once. If run into that guy again, I'll turn him into a pile of dust, no problem." Duo eyed his completed sandwich smugly, and then bit into it with a strange zeal, as if the act itself was the kiss of death for his vampire opponent.

Quatre groaned inwardly at his charge's cocksureness. _I was hoping that minor encounter would be enough to make Duo realize that being a slayer isn't enough. Maybe there was a reason this job was given only to females... _He restarted his laptop and connected to the internet to check his email. A handful from his sisters and, sure enough, one from an address labeled only as "Barton". The unread email brought a smile to his face that went unnoticed by Duo.

"Of course Duo, just make sure you're up early tomorrow—the usual time. We're going to do some agility training."

"Yes, sir" and, strangely, the matters of the evening were dropped after that. The possibility of there being a reason for Quatre to so suddenly drop his analysis of the evening only briefly passed through Duo's mind, mostly due to inhuman focus being placed on the colossal sandwich he built. One look over to his blonde--but bizarrely Arabic--friend told him he was done for the night. He had settled in his special cushioned chair and was most likely reading and responding to emails under the warm light of a table lamp. At this juncture he would probably say little until it was time for him to turn in. At one point, Duo had taken that silence as a sign of a wedge between him and the mysterious guy that had suddenly entered his life and paid all his expenses, but he had finally come to realize that it was just a facet of the boy's much quieter personality.

Duo decided to quiet his own, much louder personality while he cleaned his small mess in the kitchen. He called out "good night" to Quatre when he had finished, and retired to his room, sandwich and tall glass of coke in hand.

Living in an apartment that had most likely once been a warehouse had its benefits, and space definitely ranked highest among them. The apartment Quatre and Duo shared was absolutely cavernous, with huge multi-paned windows and a ceiling so high up that under bad lighting you couldn't see it—more than enough space for Duo's meager belongings and the truckload of possessions Quatre had brought with him from his home, some city in some area in Saudi Arabia, the names of which Duo could never remember. But if there was one drawback, it was the fact that Duo's bedroom, while larger than the entirety of his last apartment, lacked a ceiling, separated from the rest of the apartment by a wall that only went up half the distance between floor and ceiling. Duo was a loud boy, a self-proclaimed yapper and lover of noises, but that was one trait that was quickly established to not be mutual between the two boys. So Duo fought back the impulse to turn on his stereo or small television set, and settled with sitting on his queen size bed and eating in silence. He'd be going to bed soon, anyway.

It didn't take long for him to finish his sandwich and drink, and in typical slob fashion he discarded them "neatly" on his dresser to be returned to the kitchen sink in the morning rather than disturbing Quatre's silence. Not bothering with his braid of hair, he stripped of his clothes and crawled under the covers, reaching out from under them to click off the lamp on the end table by his bed. Duo would fall asleep fast, only the lingering aches in his nose and back reminding him of the events earlier that evening, and the strangely intense vampire that—if only briefly—managed to get the best of him.

_Dear Quatre, _

_Though I'm sure you're thinking the opposite, I want to tell you how delighted I am with the pleasant evening we spent together. It was a very short time, and very little words exchanged, but just the slightest time in your presence and the mere faint of words from your lips are enough to leave me quite content until we next meet. _

_And, assuredly, we will meet again. Though I apologize, again, if this business relationship of ours continues to adventure outside the boundaries of its description.   
_

_Sleep well, _

_Trowa Barton_

It was the shortest of the emails he had read that evening, but it was the only one that left Quatre in a puddle of romanced sighs as he cuddled a pillow in his knees. He had saved it for last; his "dessert" after reading and responding to emails from several of his sisters (and, thankfully, not one from his father). Trowa seemed to know intrinsically when and how to put him in a good mood.

_Maybe it's because he's had lots of practice, you know, being a vampire and all. _It was a thought that Quatre occasionally allowed himself to ponder, but never for too long. Over the time he'd known Trowa Barton—save their first meeting—he had earned Quatre's implicit trust. And, as of lately, Quatre was becoming keenly more aware that Trowa was trying to earn something else, as well. Though whether or not it would be forthcoming, Quatre wasn't yet sure. A Watcher entering into a business partnership with a vampire was one taboo. A romantic relationship, of any sort, was perfectly out of the question. So for now, he preferred keeping their relationship where it currently resided: with Trowa playing the part of the elusive figure of the night; long, chocolate bangs shielding half of his face while providing Quatre with inside information on the happenings within the major vampire families of New York, as well as lighthearted flirting that eased both their moods.

_Besides, letting things go any further than that would mean possibly having to inform Duo, and nothing good could come from Duo knowing that his watcher, the one responsible for training him to track and defeat vampires, was out at night canoodling with one. _Trust had been something easy to establish with Duo. And Quatre, with his sixth sense, could feel a heart that was fair and understanding within the boy. But still, Quatre's powers could not play out future scenarios, and right now nothing was worth pushing his burgeoning friendship with his slayer.

_Besides, if my sisters ever found out…they'd string me up while daddy delivered the death blow! _ Quatre cringed at the idea of them knowing of his meetings with a vampire on top of his experiences with his unconventional slayer. Yet, the thought brought along with it a sense of rebellion that Quatre couldn't help reveling in, if just for a few moments.

He pushed further thoughts along those lines out of his mind. He'd need a clear head for writing up his report to Watcher's Headquarters; they'd want to know with _vivid_ detail just how his _male_ slayer was shaping up.

_Duo…if only he knew of the ruckus he's caused just by existing… _

Quatre allowed himself only a few more lingering moments with Trowa Barton's email before clicking "Compose" at the top right corner of the screen.

--------------------

"No, I'm afraid I didn't get to learn very much tonight. I've reported everything that's happened thus far, nothing of which had very much to do with the job I've been sent to do."

The unintelligible buzzing emanating from the cell phone was all that could be heard in Heero's quiet as death apartment. He was still sitting in the window sill, staring out into the blue that was starting to lighten with each moment.

"No, I haven't had a chance to set up my laptop yet, so I did not get the email. I'll check first thing in the morning…there's not much I can do until then."

The buzzing went on for only a few seconds more. "Yes, I'll stay in contact." Heero ended the conversation by flipping the phone closed.

_One down... _He thought bitterly. He knew what to expect from the call back to Japan, but it didn't make it any easier. They seemed to want instantaneous information from him. Tomorrow night he'd meet with Zechs Merquise and continue with the relations the Merquise family thought he was in the country to bolster on behalf of the Yuy family. As far as Heero knew, and what his superiors were counting on, the Americans had no idea that he was actually there to investigate their involvement in a string of events that had been unfolding in the Western world, all starting with the Maxwell Church Massacre in that very city only five years ago. Rumors had been creeping around for years now, telling of some mysterious force several influential families of the West were looking to unearth. Heero was one of few sent to investigate any possible threat to the vampire families of the East.

Heero allowed his mind a moment to focus solely on the mission at hand in a manner most would confuse with meditation. It was how he always prepared to do his best work. His eyes remained focused on the sky just outside his window. From the information he had been given, he was to investigate a particular horrific event—the sudden explosion of a church and orphanage in New York City. The news had called it an accident caused by a gas leak, but those who knew where to look and who to ask for the real story knew that it was no accident. Every body found amongst the wreckage of the old church building—every man, woman, and child—had been burned to the bones. However, not a single garment had been left with as much as a singe. There had only been one survivor of the incident: a teenage boy that, as far as anyone knew, had disappeared from the face of the Earth. As everyone in the know suspected, the tragedy reeked of supernatural involvement and provocation.

_And demons…_Heero thought with a measure of disgust. In all of his experience, whenever something of this nature was going down, anywhere, you could count on there being demons involved. Heero continued to stare out of the window until the sky began to blend into shades of orange, and the cool light of the moon began to give way to the burning judgment of the sun. It was only then that he moved, shutting all the curtains (he'd made sure they were thick enough to block out most light), and retiring to his bed. He was looking forward to sleeping the day away.

_ Somehow, I don't get the feeling my involvement here is going to be as open and shut as Katashi originally informed me. _

* * *

_- _

_Next Chapter:   
_

_Quatre receives strange news from home. Trowa responds to a tip that could spelling disaster for Quatre and his slayer charge, and Duo Maxwell and Heero Yuy meet again in a scenario that ends up surprising the both of them. Who'll have the upper hand by the end of the next chapter? Only one way to find out… _

Whew! That was a really hard chapter to write, mostly because I ended up changing a major plot point halfway through and had to throw away just about everything I mentioned in this chapter's summary (I apologize for that, by that way). But don't worry, just had to do a bit of reshuffling and now everything's peachy:) Now that I've got a little bit of the groundwork out of the way, stay tuned for the next chapter! Things are going to get intense and I do mean that. I think I've got a system going here, so expect the next chapter no later than **Tuesday, April 17**. See ya then. :)


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